During his time as a defensive back for the Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, Wade Davis was a smart player who spent a lot of time studying and drawing up the defensive schemes he would need to get ahead. He developed friendships with teammates like Jevon Kearse, Samari Rolle and Eddie George, did his best to stay alive in the ruthlessly competitive nature of the NFL, and dealt with one difficult fact -- he was a gay man in a profession where homosexuality was never discussed openly.

It took years after he left the NFL before he felt comfortable enough with himself to publicly admit that he was gay, but as Amy K. Nelson of SB Nation told me, that was a larger theme in Davis' life through the last decade as he looked to find his place in the world...

Good for him, it just shouldn't be an issue anymore within sport as it really has no bearing on performance. I just wish there were more acceptance over here in the UK within the sport world. We still have minor problems with racism too which is frankly, utterly pathetic. It's not the friggin' dark ages...

Good for him, it just shouldn't be an issue anymore within sport as it really has no bearing on performance. I just wish there were more acceptance over here in the UK within the sport world. We still have minor problems with racism too which is frankly, utterly pathetic. It's not the friggin' dark ages...

You're right. Apparently lots of people have a "hard" time getting over their prejudices. There's a lot of prejudice here in the USA, particularly against gay people. Also against black people. Also against white people. Also against leftists. Also against rightists. Also against atheists. Also against women. And on and on. I must own having prejudices. But I realize I'm wrong and prejudice is stupid.

This reminds me of the flack about gay folks in the military...I just don't think your sexual orientation should be a factor. Straight or gay,whether you can do the job and do it well is the main focus. Of course,as a football player I can only imagine the crap he would have taken had he announced this while still an active player for football is a "man's sport". Not one where the player' sex lives should be an issue...in fact,I'm not interested in the straight players' private lives. Just play me some good,hard-hitting football and I'm happy...private is private.